The Night Before: Frozen Heart
by goodfairyofny
Summary: Yuri Lowell refuses to let the world end without making a few things clear to his oldest friend. Merry Christmas, Sabi-chan! Hope you enjoy your gift! Implied Raven/Rita which is elaborated on in The Night Before: Dreams of the Future.


Yuri Lowell was convinced that Brave Vesperia would save the world. He would make sure that they did, because losing wasn't an option and never had been. Still, the night before the final battle, his fellow guild members all seemed to be saying just-in-case goodbyes and giving each other pep talks. Judith had mentioned a chat with Rita that was full of secrets she couldn't tell him. Karol ran off to bed after a talk with Raven that seemed to have left the old man extra thoughtful. He was surprised to see Raven knock on the door to Rita's room and be ushered inside, a complicated look in the young mage's eyes as she shut the door. She noticed Yuri just before it shut and stuck her tongue out at him, hiding her emotions. Yuri himself had a nice talk with Estelle and Repede. At the same time, he saw Flynn up on the guard tower talking with Patty. It looked serious; but then, Flynn always looked serious. When Estelle excused herself and Repede decided to follow Karol's example and find somewhere to get a good night's sleep, Yuri stayed outside by himself for awhile. He waited until Patty came back and gave him a wave as she walked back to her room. "Goodnight, me hearty!" she called cheerfully. Yuri noted that Flynn headed back to the Chevalier's HQ. After sitting outside for what felt like forever, he made a decision. Picking up his sword, he made his way to the other side of town to find Flynn.

Yuri had always been considered by others to be somewhat of an asshole. This didn't bother him, it simply made life easier because there was no reason to worry about hurting anyone's feelings if they didn't have high expectations of you to begin with. He knocked loudly on the door to Flynn's room with the hilt of his sword. The other knights hanging around looked at him wearily, probably shocked he would be so rude to the acting commandant. Flynn opened the door with an exasperated look on his face. More than that, he looked tired. "What do you want, Yuri?" he asked in a monotone that made Yuri's skin itch for a fight. Yuri shrugged nonchalantly. He knew it pissed Flynn off that he could appear so unbothered by anything. "Just thought I'd come and say hi. I see you have more important things to do, though," he said, starting to turn away even though it was obvious Flynn wasn't busy. Flynn opened up his door with a sigh. "Come in, Yuri."

Once the door was shut behind them, Yuri felt furious instead of just annoyed. He knew it was fairly irrational but he also didn't really care. "What the hell, Flynn? You weren't going to come and say goodbye?" Flynn raised an eyebrow just slightly. "You aren't leaving until morning. I planned on seeing you all off at first light." Yuri scoffed angrily. "So I'm just one of the group to you, then? You needed to give Patty a personal sendoff, but you have nothing at all you need to say to me before the world comes to an end?!" Yuri sucked in a breath in the silence as Flynn cringed and said nothing. Then he finally spoke, calmly and quietly, in that special way Flynn had that always left Yuri feeling completely infuriated. "I thought you had this handled. If that's true, the world isn't ending." Yuri let out an unamused laugh. "That isn't the point," he replied darkly. "Then what exactly is?" Flynn asked with an edge to his voice that let Yuri know he was getting to him. _Good_, Yuri thought. "The _point_," Yuri said with frustration, "is that the world could end tomorrow and your stupid, frozen heart doesn't give a damn if you never see me again!"

It all happened quickly after that. Flynn's look of complete surprise and sharp intake of breath shifted right into the two of them both reaching out and dragging each other into the kiss. It was hot and fast, like a bomb had exploded and no one was left but them. Just Flynn and Yuri, always friends. Always more than friends, and never willing to own up to it until this moment. After a minute, Yuri felt Flynn beginning to come to his senses so he tugged him even closer, only breaking his lips away to mutter an angry "_no_" and return to what he was doing. When the anger all finally melted off of him, Yuri let Flynn's lips go and pressed their foreheads together, eyes still closed. They both continued to hold on, but not tightly now; there was no more need for possession. Yuri took a deep breath before speaking. "I never know where I stand with you," he said quietly. "How you could you not?" Flynn asked, exhaling his own breath slowly. "You're everything. Every rule I break is for you. To help you, to keep you safe." Yuri laughed darkly. "So basically I'm corrupting you then?" Flynn laughed in return. "Pretty much since the day I met you. I'm sorry that I didn't come and say goodbye. I honestly didn't know how to." Yuri sighed and finally opened his eyes. He was staring into the icy blue depths of Flynn's own when he spoke again very quietly. "Then don't." Flynn's face looked like a question, so Yuri humphed and looked down before he brought their eyes back together. "I could stay. Tonight. Instead." Flynn smiled, his eyes crinkling just slightly at the corners. "Okay, Yuri," he replied, looking more at peace than Yuri had seen him look since childhood. Seeing him stand there with that look on his face, reaching out a hand in invitation was enough to convince Yuri that he had finally succeeded in melting Flynn's heart, at least a little. In the morning, he would convince him to come with Brave Vesperia and save the world.


End file.
